Lingering Memories
by FezzesRCool
Summary: What actually happens to Lily Evans, James Potter and their friends after "Snape's Worst Memory"  Order of the Phoenix . James/Lily
1. Chapter 1: The Bag in the Tree

She didn't know why it had hit her so hard. It was just a word. Mudblood. One stinking word, it didn't even mean anything. Lily could rise above it. She was used to stuff like that being thrown at her. It was a world of the pure, and Lily was pushing the fraying tempers of the pure bloods. She had left the scene at the lake and was sat at the back of the common room trying to pull herself together. She wiped her eyes, stood up and marched to the girl's dormitory where she washed her face before returning to the common room.

As she walked to her chair she had been sat in she caught a glimpse of Snape walking very quickly from James Potter and his friends. Part of her felt sorry for Snape, and part of her felt angry at him. She was perfectly nice to him, only the other day in Potion's she had pick up his wand for him when it had fallen out of his pocket. They were friends.

Carried away on the thoughts of why Snape was so rude to her she had only just noticed that the portrait hole had opened when she heard the unmistakeable voice of her friend Mary.

"Oh, Lily are you alright. He's nasty that Snape, Potter tore him up for it though. He had a massive go at him for it." Mary babbled as she fussed around Lily and petted her hair into its usual neat slick straightness.

"He did what?" She asked looking at Mary seriously.

"He got angry with Snape. In fact if I don't remember correctly, he levitated Snape's bag into a tree..." at that moment the portrait hole swung open revealing James, Remus, Sirius and Peter. All laughing at a joke that James had just told.

"Potter!" Lily shouted at him from across the common room.

"Can I do something for you Evans?" He asked politely. "Are you okay; you look like you've been crying?" He hurried over to Lily.

"Yes, I have been crying. But I need to talk to you Potter." She said coldly looking at him as if she was bored that she had to waste her time talking to him.

"Talk away Evans." He said, still looking at her in a concerned way.

"I hear that you levitated Severus' bag into a tree." She said plainly.

"You hear correctly, but I wonder how you heard that, it doesn't have anything to do with Mary does it?" He asked looking at Mary. Mary opened her mouth to speak but Lily silenced her by raising her hand.

"I want you to take me down to that tree now, and remove the bag from it." She said picking her cloak up from the chair as she looked at him expectantly.

"Well, you see the thing is, I can't. Because not only am I never going to be nice to _Snivellus_ ever again after what he said to you, well it got trapped. _Snivellus_ has to get it down himself." He said.

"Which tree Potter?" She asked.

"Beech." He said glaring at her. "But I don't see how you can get it down Evans, it's truly stuck, even Sirius tried to get it down." He said following her as she walked away from him. She left the portrait hole, with Potter on her heels. She sighed as he followed her through the castle constantly throwing comments at her.

"You weren't even trying to get it down Potter." She scowled at him as they finally reached the beech tree.

"Look, I don't see how you'll get it down if I couldn't."

"Not everyone round here resorts to doing something using your wand. Did you even think about doing it a different way?" She asked looking at him as if she was stupid. She took of her cloak and laid it on the ground next to the tree; she pulled her wand out of the pocket of her robes and gave it to James.

"One thing happens to it Potter, one thing and I swear, you will never see anything ever again." And with this threat she began to climb the tree.

"Okay, really Evans, get out of the tree, if you fall you could hurt yourself, badly." He said his voice full of concern.

"Potter, shut up, your annoying voice is making me lose concentration, so unless you want a dead prefect on your hands shut up and prepare to levitate me in case I fall." James shut up though continued to look worried as he held his wand in a ready position.

A few minute later Lily was at the top of the tree with Snape's bag.

"Potter?" She yelled back down the tree hoping he was still there and that he hadn't ran off.

"Evans." James shouted back up to her.

"I got the bag, I'm going to throw it to you, catch it." She shouted down again.

"No. I am not going to get grease all over my fingers!" He yelled back.

"Potter you are going to catch it, or I am going to give you detention for a week!" Lily shrieked through the thick branches of the tree. She let the bag go and heard it land.

"You better have caught that!" She shouted threateningly.

"Damn it!" She heard James curse under his breath.

"What is it?" She hissed through the branches. Lily scrambled down the tree as fast as possible and leapt from the tree, almost landing on James.

"Steady as she goes Evans!" Professor Slughorn was smiling at her, and stood next him was Snape, whom looked at James angrily as James caught Lily round the waist to stop her from falling over.

"Lily, I was called out here by Severus, he says that Potter and Black stole his school bag, and put it up a tree." He looked at Lily with a look of disapproval. Lily quickly pulled away from James.

"Yes sir, Snape was right. As soon as I heard of the incident I spoke to Potter, who informed me where the bag was. Also he informed me of his desire to apologise to Snape, I think Potter was very sincere about this, as he assisted in retrieving the bag for Snape. He also voiced his concern over how Snape would feel after his outburst and he said he wished to shake Snape's hand in apology. " James looked at Lily with his mouth open, recomposed himself and looked back at Slughorn.

"Yes Sir that is what I said to Miss Evans." James said nodding.

"So then boys shake hands and make up." Slughorn said beaming at Lily. Snape looked at Lily, then at James as James slowly stretched out his hand. Snape's hand crawled out from his pocket and they shook hands for a brief second before Slughorn smiled.

"Right ho then I'm off, see you in potions Lily. Snape, Potter." He nodded briefly at the boys.

Snape looked at Lily impatiently and waited until Slughorn was safely in the castle to snatch his bag off of her.

"Filthy Mudblood, get off of my belongings!" He snatched the bag away from Lily. Lily stood there looking stunned. There was that word. Again! James had instantly pulled out his wand and had it pointed at Snape.

"Alright, _Snivellus_. I don't care what Lily says, but I think you need some manners!" James glared at him.

"James, put your wand down. Please. There's no point in wasting your talents on a slug like him." James turned to look at Lily in shock.

"Sorry, talent?" He asked. Lily suddenly raised her wand at Snape again.

"Be a good boy, put down your wand and slither back to your common room like a good like worm." Snape put down his wand but continued to mutter under his breath as he stalked away from Lily and James.

James turned to look at Lily, but she was already storming across the grounds to the castle.

"Hey Evans!" He called as he ran up to her.

"Anything you need Potter?" She asked as she continued to walk very quickly across the grass.

"Yeah. So if you think I'm that talented, why won't you go out with me?" He asked. Lily stopped dead in her tracks.

"Well Potter because I wouldn't be able to put up with you bullying other students or flirting with every other girl in the school." She said without a trace of emotion in her voice.

"No, that's not fair. I only bully _Snivellus_, and I only flirt with nice girls." He looked at her half jokingly.

"Look Potter, do I have to shove it down your throat to make you realise. Never. Not even if we were the last people on Earth." Lily turned around and stormed towards the common room.


	2. Chapter 2: The Apology

"He's still staring at you." Mary giggled as she whispered to Lily. Lily looked over the top of her book and her eyes met with James Potter's. His eyes dropped quickly. Mary stretched and then leapt to her feet.

"Oh, Lily, I've just remembered, I left my potions book in the dungeons. I need to get it." Mary leapt from her seat before Lily could speak, and she ran off towards the portrait hole. Minutes passed before it opened again and Mary pushed through again.

"Lily, Snape's outside. He says he wants to talk to you." Mary gushed. James, who had obviously overheard stood up and walked towards the portrait hole, flanked by Sirius and Peter. Lily ran towards the portrait hole and stood in front of it.

"Potter, I forbid you to leave this common room." Her voice cracked in the last moment and James' look softened.

"Okay, if you don't want us involved Lily. I think he needs his ass kicking personally, but if you don't want us to." Lily looked at him, Peter and Sirius, who all looked sincere.

"Thank you." She turned back to Mary.

"Tell him this exactly, 'Lily says she didn't realise you wanted to spend time talking to filth like her.' Thanks Mary." Lily smiled at her friend and sat back down, trying to concentrate but all the words seemed to merge into one large word, scrawled across the page. Mudblood. Lily shook her head and put the book down just as Mary was rushing in.

"He says he really needs to talk to you." James Potter and his friends all looked up and listened to the conversation. Other students were taking interest now, and whispers of 'Snape.' 'Lily Evans' 'A You-Know-What' were echoing around the room.

"Tell him to go to hell." Lily looked away and her eyes met James Potter again and he gave her an encouraging smile. Mary scampered from the room only to return seconds later.

"He says he's going to sleep outside the common room until she came out." Mary looked at Lily.

"Okay." She walked towards the portrait hole. Mary gave her a supportive hug and Remus Lupin caught her eye and smiled. She took a deep breath and stepped through the portrait hole.

Lily stepped through the portrait hole again and looked over to see Mary and Jessica sat with James Potter's friends.

"Lily!" Mary squealed as she stood up and ran over to her. Mary hugged Lily tight. This was so sweet. She felt like she had been betrayed by a very good friend of hers and now here were other friends, better friends. Tears streamed down Lily's face as the full anger of everything that had just been said had burst out.

"Oh God, Lily don't cry. Oh sweetie. Please." James Potter was on his feet instantly and was stood next to Lily and Mary.

"Mary sit her down and we can all talk about it." Lily started crying even harder. Here were people, who weren't even her closest friends, and they were being so nice.

Lily was sat down between Mary and James on the sofa.

"What did he say to you?" James asked.

"Well he apologised about calling me a Mudblood, and I just sort told him to go away, and leave me and my friends alone. And then he, he..." Lily sobbed onto Mary's shoulder. James seemed to be getting more and more angry.

"And then, I said 'Go eat death with your friends,' and he called me a filthy Mudblood again, and then left." Lily carried on sobbing as James stood up.

"Right, I have been looking for an excuse to hammer him massively. And I've just found one. Padfoot." Sirius rose and was about to follow James to the door.

"NO!" Lily was practically screaming at him. "Please, I don't want either of you getting in trouble because of him. I don't care anymore. He can just go rot in a hole." James sat back down on the sofa.

"But Lily, he deserves it." James said.

"I know, but you don't deserve the punishment." She looked at all of them seriously.

"She's right." Lupin said. "James, if we go after Snape, we'll get in trouble. He's Slughorn's favourite, minus Lily." Remus smiled at her and Lily felt herself blushing.

"I'm not Slughorn's favourite; he's just collects people whom he thinks are smart." Sirius looked at her teasingly.

"Right, I'm going to bed." Lily stood up and walked away from the group huddled by the fireplace. A while later Mary and Jessica came up. Mary got into her bed and lay on her side facing Lily.

"So! James Potter really likes you." She said.

"And?" Lily asked trying to ignore her.

"You should go out with him." Mary said glancing over at Jessica and catching her eye and grinning.

"Never, he's really arrogant." Lily looked over at Jessica.

"Remus Lupin's really nice isn't he?" Mary said in a dreamy voice.

"What? Mary? What happened to '_Amos Diggory is the only one for me!'?" _Lily asked.

"Well Lupin's really sweet. And he's studious." Mary looked away all dreamy again.

"Well personally, I think Sirius Black is the best looking." Jessica piped up.

"You two! You can't go out with James Potter's friends! That would be really uncomfortable for me and him!" Lily said feigning anger.

"No it wouldn't. Potter could talk to Pettigrew!" The three girls burst out into peals of laughter. Friends. They were the only thing Lily needed.

"Lily's really pretty isn't she?" James said trying to sound casual. Sirius groaned.

"Prongs. Get. Over. It." Sirius looked at Lupin and they started laughing.

"Come on James, she's never going to go out with you. If you've liked her for this long and nothing's happened, then I guess that means nothing's going to happen." Lupin said returning his head to his book.

"I think she really likes you Prongs." Said Peter. Sirius rolled his eyes and mouthed at Lupin '_Sucking Up!'_ James noticed though smiled at Peter.

"Thanks Wormy." James smiled kindly. He lay back on his pillow and saw the distraught look on Lily's face when Snape had turned up and the smell of her skin when he had caught her by the tree. He loved Lily. He knew that. It wasn't just like a fancy and it wasn't just an attraction, it was love. He would do anything for her. He rolled over and took off his glasses.

"'Night" He muttered to his friends.

Lily. She was the only thing James needed.


	3. Chapter 3: The Quidditch Match

Lily walked down to breakfast with Mary and Jessica who were still discussing the boys from Potter's group of friends with relish. Lily sighed as she agreed for the fifteenth time that Lupin was very smart and Black was quite handsome. She sat down and grabbed a piece of toast and started chewing. She watched Snape walk through the door of the hall and looked down at her toast.

"Oh! Hi James. Hi Remus. Hi Peter. Hey Sirius. Come sit with us." Jessica said patting the bench next to her. Sirius sank down next to her, Lupin sat next to Mary and James sat down next to Lily. Peter sat on the other side of James.

"I really hope you win the match James. I mean Lily thinks you're a really good seeker." Mary said while beaming at James. He looked flattered and then looked at Lily out of the corner of his eye.

"I never told you that!" She said glaring at Mary. "But you are really good." She said looking at James quickly.

Jessica was sat watching Sirius as the boys started joking about the Hufflepuff team. Lily looked over to the Hufflepuff table where Jacob Earle sat. He was the Captain and Keeper of the Hufflepuff team, and he was really good looking. He saw her looking at him and he smiled and waved. They had met a few times and Lily thought he was really nice. She waved back and saw James looking at her.

"Jacob Earle? How long have you been friends with him?" He asked.

"We're not friends, but he's nice whenever I talk to him." She said coldly. James nodded in acknowledgment and turned to Sirius and started laughing about Jacob Earle. Lily sighed and started talking to Jess, who looked a bit disheartened by the fact that Sirius was ignoring her.

"Well, I need to get going." James said and stood up. There were choruses of good luck and James smiled. Lily stood up and grinned at him.

"Good luck James." She hugged him in a friendly way and sat down at the table again. She spotted Snape from across the room; he looked like he had bent his spoon. She laughed and turned to talk to her friends again.

James felt on top of the world as he walked out onto the Quidditch pitch, he scanned the stadium for his Lily and saw her stood next to Sirius, Remus, Peter, Jessica and Mary. They were all chanting his name over and over again. He grinned up at them. The Hufflepuff's entered the stadium to cheers from Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Ravenclaw didn't seem to care; in fact they were losing so it meant nothing to them this match.

"Captain's shake hands." Madam Palmer said. James shook Jacob Earle's hand. The whistle blew and James mounted his broom and soared above the stadium. He watched Lily as she jumped up and down chanting for Gryffindor, her hair flying around her head like a mane. He smiled down at his friends then focused on the game. He watched as one of Gryffindor's Chasers, Daisy Bennett, had possession of the Quaffle, she was getting closer and closer to the goalposts.

"Come on Daisy." He muttered under his breath. The Quaffle flew straight through the hoops and James cheered. The crowd started to chant Daisy's name. Daisy went bright red and flew back towards the Quaffle, her short, blonde hair flying behind her.

That was to start of many goals; soon the score was 100-0. James was sure that they were going to win. He lazily flew around the stadium watching the Hufflepuff seeker Trudi Long. Suddenly, about six hundred yards away Trudi went into a dive. She had seen the Snitch. James pushed his broom towards Trudi, he was so close, he had to win this...

But it was too late. Trudi was holding the Snitch high in the air triumphantly. She was beaming. James scowled and landed.

"Potter? What was that?" Carl Hill (Beater number one) asked.

"No, Carl leave him alone. You did great James, but someone did greater than you. It's okay, we tried our best." Daisy smiled up and him. He smiled back weakly. He had wanted to win so much. To prove to Lily that he was a good person, that he was strong and brave and talented. But he had made a fool of himself. He scowled and trudged back to the changing rooms. He found his friends there all looking at him sadly.

"Bad luck mate." Sirius said clapping James on the back.

"You did your best Prongs." Lupin said giving James an encouraging smile.

"I thought you did brilliantly." Said Peter looking up at him admiringly.

James changed into his normal clothes. He felt so stupid. He could have caught the Snitch, he should have been more focused on the game instead of thinking about Lily all the time. What was she going to think? He could see her now, laughing at him behind his back. He sighed and pulled his broomstick over his shoulder.

"Oh, by the way, Lily's out there. Her and her friends." Sirius grinned at James. James grinned back; maybe she was going to congratulate him, tell him he had done really well and that she was proud of him. He walked out of the changing rooms smiling broadly.

Lily was waiting outside the Gryffindor changing rooms with Mary and Jess. The two other girls wanted to talk to Lupin and Black, and even though Lily couldn't care less she was a good enough friend to wait with them.

"Ooh! Here they come!" Jess exclaimed as the boys came out of the changing room all looking very pleased with themselves. Jess and Mary smiled at them, but Lily was preoccupied.

"Hey Lily." Lily turned to see Jacob Earle smiling at her.

"Oh hi Jacob, well done for winning the match, you were really good." She smiled.

"I let in about ten!" He said laughing.

"Yes, but you saved quite a few as well." Lily pointed out. "So, do you want anything Jacob?" She asked.

"Yeah, I do actually." Jacob smiled sheepishly and looked down at his hands. "You see, Lily, I promised myself that if we won the match, I would ask you something." He looked at her for encouragement to continue. He obviously found it as he started to speak again.

"So, I wanted to say. That. Well, Lily, I think you're really pretty. And you're smart, and funny and really sweet. What I wanted it say is I really like you, and I wondered, if you'd like to get a Butter Beer with me in Hogsmeade some time." He looked down at his hands again.

Lily thought for a moment and then spoke.

"Yeah, sure. I'd love to." She said. Jacob looked up and smiled widely at her. She beamed back.

"So, I'll see you around then." He looked as if he was about to walk away, and then he kissed her softly.

"Bye." Said Lily smiling as she swayed on the spot. Jacob smiled and walked away into the crowd. Lily turned to her friends to her friends and they both squealed and jumped up and down on the spot. All of the boys were still smiling, all of them but one. James Potter's face had fallen from a cheeky grin, to an angry grimace.


	4. Chapter 4: The Woes of James Potter

James skulked back up to the common room after dinner that night. He had hardly eaten anything, but all he could think of was the way Lily had blushed after Jacob Earle had kissed her. And also the fact that Lily and Jacob were absent at dinner. He had been staring at the entrance hall in case they walked past.

And now he was here walking back to the Gryffindor Tower. As he walked towards an alcove he realised that there were two people stood in it. Kissing. As James got closer to the alcove he realised that it was Lily and Jacob Earle. James hurried up a sped past the alcove to get to the common room. He ran into the boy's dormitory and sat on his bed.

It hurt. Knowing that Lily loved someone else really hurt. But what could he do. That was her choice. Maybe Sirius and Lupin were right. Maybe he had to move on. He sighed and grabbed a book from his trunk. He was going to move on, but he was also going to make Lily sick with jealousy.

He went back into the common room and sat down in an armchair by the fireplace. He noticed Daisy Bennett was sat in the corner of the room, with her head in a transfiguration book. She smiled at him and he tried to smile back.

The portrait hole opened and Lily stumbled through laughing. James didn't look up. He could feel his face burning.

"Hi Daisy." Lily said smiling at the Gryffindor Chaser.

"Are you alright Lily? You seem a bit hyper, and you're bright red. Oh..." Daisy tailed off and started laughing with Lily.

"Yeah, I know!" Lily grinned at Daisy again. Daisy snickered and returned to her book. Lily walked towards the fireplace and settled down on the sofa opposite James. She waited for him to look up and when he didn't she coughed.

"Hi James." She said. James grunted in response.

"So, what are you reading?" She asked.

"A book." James replied coldly.

"Are you okay James. You seem a bit different. Yesterday you were fine. Anything wrong?" She asked.

"Yes." James answered. Daisy got up and left through the portrait hole leaving her books on the table.

"Well, are you going to tell me what's wrong?" She asked again trying to coax an answer out of him.

"Yes, why are you going out Jacob Earle?" He asked pointedly. Lily looked shocked but bit her lip as she thought of a reply.

"Well, after the match, Jacob asked me if I wanted to get a butter beer with him in Hogsmeade sometime, so I said yes." She looked at him stiffly.

"Yeah, but why him. You could go out with loads of other people, but you chose him." He said.

"Oh, I get what this is about. You're annoyed because you've asked me out loads of times and I've turned you down. You feel embarrassed about it." She looked at him coolly.

"Well I want to know why you said yes to him and no to me." He asked again.

"Because I wanted to go out with him. I don't want to go out with you." Lily said staring at James.

"Well, what is it. Is it because he's older than me, or he's better looking or because he's got a reputation for being a bit of an asshole..."

"James, shut up!" Lily glared at him.

"I just don't want you to get hurt by him. He might play you, and then you'd feel stupid." James was almost yelling now.

Suddenly Lily exploded. "THIS ISN'T EVEN ABOUT JACOB; IT'S ABOUT THE FACT THAT YOUR PRIDE IS WOUNDED BECAUSE I SAID NO TO YOU! LEAVE JACOB OUT OF THIS!" Lily screamed at him just as the portrait hole opened and a pile of people fell through it. Daisy Bennett, Carl Hill, Mary, Jessica, Sirius, Remus, Peter and many others.

"WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE? I LIKE HIM; I WANT TO BE WITH HIM. I DON'T WANT TO BE WITH YOU. EXCEPT IT JAMES, BECAUSE **WE** ARE NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN!" Lily ran off towards the girl's dormitories with tears streaming down her cheeks. She was followed quickly by Jessica and Mary, who gave James dirty looks as they passed.

"Alright kiddies nothing to see here." Remus dispersed the crowd of curious Gryffindor's and pulled James onto the sofa.

"What did you say to her?" Sirius asked.

"I asked her why she'd said yes to Earle, but not to me." Remus raised his eyebrow but still looked at James.

"And I sort of said Jacob was an asshole, and started to yell at her." Daisy Bennett overheard and came over to the group of boys discussing the problem.

"James, to be honest with you. If I had been Lily, and you'd just shouted at me, and insulted my boyfriend, I would never want to speak to you again, let alone go out with you. Be nice and considerate. And chivalrous! Girls love chivalrous!" She smiled and walked away from the boys. James realised that he had made a terrible mistake.

* * *

"He's just a fool Lily. Forget about it, you should be flattered that he's jealous of Jacob." Mary hugged Lily and Jessica rubbed Lily's back. Lily felt like she would never stop crying, she didn't know if she deserved this. After a long time spent comforting Lily, Mary and Jess fell asleep, leaving Lily wide awake and feeling awful. She tried to read for a while, but when that didn't work she just paced up and down the dormitory. She definitely didn't deserve this.

* * *

James lay in bed watching Lily pace forwards and back on the Marauder's Map. He felt awful. He had hated it when she had been with Jacob, but now he felt bad for making her have to consider choosing. In the end, if she chose him, he would be happy. And if she chose Jacob he would feel a bit sad, but happy that she was happy. He sighed.

"Mischief managed." He muttered as he tapped the map with his wand. He lay down in bed and tried to fall asleep. But it was hard, finally he drifted away into a restless sleep.


	5. Chapter 5: Hogsmeade

The next day Lily was hardly ever separated from Jacob. He picked her up for breakfast, took her down from the hall, and when they were both finished her walked her back to the Gryffindor Tower, then met her after she had brushed her teeth and got her bag in order for the day. He walked her to Herbology, picked her up from Herbology and walked her to Transfiguration.

As Lily left Transfiguration she sighed as she met Jacob outside the door.

"Hi, how was it?" He asked gesturing towards the empty classroom.

"Awful! Professor Angleton reminded us of our Transfiguration O.W.L that's tomorrow. I'm sorry but we can't meet up after dinner, I really need to revise." She sighed and looked at her feet. Jacob tilted her chin up towards his lips.

"Ah, well. I guess we have all weekend after that." He kissed her gently; Lily kissed him back and smiled. She was in her happy place.

* * *

Lily's friends and James' friends hadn't spoken for ages. Mary and Jessica were still too busy giving James evil looks. Lily sighed and put her book down. All of her notes on one page didn't make any sense at all. She thought of who might have the answers. Two names came to mind immediately. Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. She got up and walked over to where the boys were all sat revising.

"Hi." She said. James Potter looked up hopefully straight away and tried to catch Lily's eye. She ignored him and pretended he wasn't there.

"Remus, Sirius, could you help me with these notes. I took them down wrong in Transfiguration, and I don't understand them now. You two are really good at Transfiguration, so I hoped you could help." She smiled.

"Yeah, sure, we'll help." Remus and Sirius smiled. James continued staring at Lily, though she pretended not to notice.

* * *

The evening wore on, and the boys and Lily finished the Transfiguration notes.

"I'm going to have to find a way to repay you." Lily said slouching back in her chair.

"Well..." Sirius said grinning with a fake evil air.

"I think, if I buy you two butter beer's, and you too Peter, that we'll be equal then." She grinned as Remus and Sirius nodded.

"Can James come?" Asked Peter looking over at James as James glared at Lily.

"Sure, if he wants to." Lily said, he tone changing from gratefulness to a sharp, bitter cold. James didn't even look up, and pretended that Lily wasn't there with his friends.

"I'm going to bed, thanks for the help with the notes." Lily smiled and went towards the stairs, she looked back at the group of boys who were all reading their notes. She sighed as she thought of the task that was ahead. Her Transfiguration O.W.L.

* * *

The exam wasn't as bad as she thought it would be, she had done quite well and was quite pleased with her performance, Jess and Mary were still discussing the questions about Animagi as Lily took a seat at the edge of the lake. The two other girls sat down and continued their discussion when Jacob walked over.

"Hi." He said smiling.

"Hey." Lily said as she stood up.

"So how was the exam?" He asked pulling Lily by the hand away from her friends.

"Oh, it was alright, it was a bit hard though." She smiled up at him.

"How was your lesson?" She asked.

"It was okay really, boring. Listen Lily, you know that the trip to Hogsmeade is coming up. Don't you think we should go and get a butter beer from the Three Broomsticks?" He asked looking into her eyes.

"Oh, Jacob, I'm so sorry. You know Remus Lupin and Sirius Black; well they helped me with notes for my exam so I said I'd buy them a butter beer each. I'm really sorry. Wait! Why don't you come with us? Please?" She asked looking at him pleadingly.

"Yeah, sure it'll be good." He grinned at her. Lily smiled and stood on tip toes to kiss him. He put his arms around her waist as he kissed her back.

"Alright Lily?" Sirius Black was leaning up against the nearest tree. James Potter was stood behind him, looking embarrassed. Lily stepped away from Jacob as she flushed a deep red.

"Yes thank you Sirius. Are you and Remus still on for butter beer's?" She asked. Sirius nodded

"Yeah, we'll see you tomorrow." He grinned and walked away with James who had stayed silent for the whole time, but was still glaring at her. Lily hugged Jacob again and then looked back over to her friends.

"I need to go. I'll meet you tomorrow on the way to Hogsmeade." She smiled as he nodded and walked away from him. Tomorrow would be a good day.

* * *

Lily walked down to Hogsmeade with Potter's group, Jacob, Jess and Mary. Everyone was laughing as they walked down the Three Broomsticks. James Pot

ter was not laughing, he obviously hadn't realised that Jacob was going to be there, and finding that he now was there had ruined his day. Lily smiled as the group chatted and joked on the journey to the village. This was happiness, it had to be. She squeezed Jacob's hand as the pub grew visible, it was a beautiful day, and the pub had a few tables and chairs with umbrellas outside of the door.

"Ooh! Seats outside that is so sweet!"Jess squealed and grinned at Lily.

"Lily, you lot go get the butter beers and me and Sirius will guard the table. She pulled Sirius by the hand towards the table .

Sirius looked shocked, but quite pleased. Lily led Jacob off towards the bar and bought butter beers for everyone. They carried the drinks back to their table and all squashed onto the benches.

"This is stupid. There isn't even space to swing a cat!" Sirius said with a completely serious face, but eyes full of mischief.

"Oh, you are so funny!" Jess said clutching at his arm and giggling. Immediately everyone was laughing at the happy look on Sirius' face and the over exaggerated response Jess had supplied.

Jacob slid his arm around Lily's shoulders and laughed along with the others. Lily glanced around the table and smiled at all her friends. Even James Potter was smiling, but he was keeping his gaze as far away from Lily as possible. Lily was still watching him as he glanced at her. Instantly he looked away. Lily felt embaressed.

Could he really...? Never. No it was out of the question. James Potter did not fancy her. It just wasn't possible.

* * *

**Hey guys! Sorry for not updating for AGES! I had a massive pile of Writer's Block.**

**Anyways, next chapter will be on soon. Well sooner.**

**Probably.**

**!**

**please!**


	6. Chapter 6: Turned Me Down

James lay on his stomach on top of his bed, flicking through notes for History of Magic. He kept on thinking about Lily and the way she had looked at Jacob. It had been like there was never anything that could be driven between them. Not even him. James Potter. He sighed and closed the book, throwing it over towards his trunk he stood up and ruffled his hair as he gazed out the window. From here he could see Lily and her friends lying on their fronts talking and laughing. He watched Lily as she moved her curtain of hair and pushed it over her right shoulder. That was one of the things James loved the most about Lily. It was the way she was always swishing her hair over her shoulder when she was angry, distracted or bored. He wondered what she was thinking about. Probably her amazingly wonderful boyfriend. He scowled as he walked across the room, away from the window. Sirius walked through the door and sat on his bed.

"Oh, Lily's out there right?" He asked looking at James in a concerned way.

"Yeah." James asked trying to sound unconcerned.

"Oh. Is Jess out there too?" Sirius asked sitting almost bolt upright.

"Yeah." James said again. "Look I'm going to go for a walk."

"Right. Yes, I agree. What a freak." Sirius said staring out of the window. James sighed and stalked out of the room.

"Lily what's wrong. You've been fidgeting all day. Ooh. Look Sirius Black's up in that window!" Jess nodded her head over towards the Gryffindor Tower slowly. Mary giggled.

Lily sighed. "I'm fine Jess, just got stuff on my mind." Lily stood up. "I'm going for a walk. See you later."

Lily drifted around the castle feeling bored. After analysing the events of the day in Hogsmeade she had managed to fully convince herself that James Potter was not in love with her. Though she couldn't work out whether that was a good or bad thing. She also hadn't been able to bring herself to see Jacob all day and she was feeling guilty, tired, upset and annoyed. And that's when she saw Severus Snape.

"Lily, I need to talk to you." Snape said pulling at Lily's arm into a hidden corner of the corridor.

"No you don't, you made it clear you don't want to talk to me." Lily tried to pull away put Snape pulled her arm again.

"Lily. Just hear me out for three seconds okay?" Snape pleaded with her. Lily sighed, what else could she do?

James wandered around the school feeling empty; it was weird, this life. Full of hormones and other things that you could do without. He carried on walking until he saw Sirius who was sat with one of Lily's friends holding her hand!

"Oh hey James." Sirius grinned at James as he walked over.

"Alright?" James asked staring at the pairs of entwined hands on the floor. Jess grinned at Sirius.

"You tell him." She said nudging Sirius' arm.

"Okay, me and Jess are going out." Sirius beamed happily and Jess looked eagerly at James.

"Oh, that's really... good." James finished lamely. "I'm glad you are, you um, er, should go out." He added.

"I know." Jess said grinning at Sirius.

"Sirius, you haven't seen Peter have you?" James asked.

"Yeah, he's with Mooney, in the common room I think." Sirius answered.

"Right. I'll see you later." James added he smiled at Jess and walked away.

Lily was sat under the tree sighing as she continued to levitate the long twig which had been lying on the floor in front of her. She fidgeted as she stared at the twig. The ground crunched behind her and she looked up. It was James Potter.

"Potter." She said.

"Lily." He said nodding in acknowledgment.

"Do you mind if I sit with you for a while?"James looked at her with a burning intensity that his hazel eyes burned.

"Um, yeah, sure." Lily looked back at the twig and flicked her wand so it spun slightly in the air.

"Lily." James said. She turned to look at him. "Lily, please, listen. I need to ask you something. I want you to answer straight away okay?" He asked. His eyes were still burning with intensity.

"I really like you Lily, so I guess what I wanted to ask is, will you break up with Jacob and go out with me?" He asked.

Lily's stomach felt as though it was falling through the bottom of her feet.

"I don't think that would be a good idea." She got up quickly and walked away.

James stared at the twig she had been levitating and wiped his eye as the twig fell to the ground.

The spell was broken.

Snape walked purposely as he left the common room. Today he was going to tell her. And he was going to do it today. As he was walking towards the grounds he saw her. He red hair was being blown slightly by the light wind.

"Lily!" He ran towards her. She stopped her brisk walk and turned to him.

"Yes Snape?" She asked with a slight coldness in her voice, apparently she hadn't forgotten the events of the past week.

"Lily, I know you're angry with me, and you'll probably say no straight away, but just hear me out." He looked at Lily for encouragement to continue. She had her lips pursed and was glaring.

"Go on." She said still glaring, though she waved her hand encouragingly.

"Lily, we've been friends for a while, and you mean so much to me. But to me your more than a friend, much more. Lily, I was wondering if you'd like to go and get a butter beer sometime. Just you and me?" He looked at her hopingly, but all Lily could do was feel shocked. Snape, Severus Snape. Her best friend, no this wasn't happening. Never. First Potter and now Snape.

"Sorry Sev, but you're my best friend. I can't." She walked away almost as quickly as she had come, Snape watched her leave feeling stupid and embarrassed.

James sat opposite Remus feeling depressed Lily was sat just over there looking lost while her friends sat around her laughing. She was lost in her own little bubble of confusion.

"Potter?" James looked up to see Daisy Bennett's face floating in front of him.

"Look Potter, don't talk just listen, I know that you love the sound of your own voice, but right now you need to listen. You like Lily. No don't talk, listen. Potter, I just saw Jacob Earle with a certain Hannah Smith. And they were kissing. You need to tell Lily." James' heart soared. This was what he needed, if he told Lily she would break up with Jacob and go out with him. He looked over at Lily. He could tell that right now, amid the sea of confusion, Jacob was Lily's life ring. He couldn't tell her what Daisy had told him. He looked up at Daisy.

"It would kill her." He said pitifully. He looked up at Daisy sadly.

"Okay, I would've thought less of you if you had told her." Daisy smiled and put her hand on James' shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly.

"See you around Potter." She drifted off towards her group of six years friends. James watched her leave and then glanced back to Lily, who looked desperately confused and upset. James sighed and turned back to Remus.

"Prongs, you need to take your mind off of it. Go to bed, when you get up tomorrow you'll feel so much better." James nodded and sadly dragged himself of to bed. Tonight was going to be a long night.


	7. Chapter 7: The Owlery

She was pacing forwards and backwards. James watch her footsteps, he watched her pacing the Girl's dormitory. He closed his eyes and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. When he looked back at the map again, he saw that she was gone, walking through the Portrait Hole, and down the corridor. He read down the corridor, Lily was going to walk straight into Professor Muscogee. The defence against the dark arts was infamous for stopping roaming students, usually with two months of after school, and weekend detentions. He quickly got changed, grabbed his invisibility cloak and ran from the dormitory.

Lily wandered up and down the corridor, she needed to think, and was desperately confused. First Potter, but now Severus. She didn't understand, Severus had been her best friend since they were in their first year. And then he'd dropped that bomb shell on her. She paused and leaned against the wall. Holding her head in her hands, she paused and listened to the sounds of the sleeping school. It was all quiet. Well, it was supposed to be all quiet. Footsteps were coming up the hall. And long, struggled breaths. Professor Muscogee! A flawless record and a good reputation was going to be ruined in three seconds, there was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide, it was over. Lily stood up straight against the wall, like a lamb going to slaughter. As she waited to receive her fate, she couldn't help blaming Potter and Severus...

James got to her just before the Professor did. He watched her realisation that she would get caught. He watched her sadness at realising that her record would no longer be flawless, and he watched her anger, though at what he didn't understand. And the Professor drew closer still James only took a few minutes to make his decision...

There was a waft of air. It reminded Lily of making her bed at home, putting the sheets on the bed. She remembered, when they were young, she and Petunia would play with around with the sheets. Lily would be a cat, and would chase Petunia around under the sheets. But that didn't happen anymore; Petunia hated Lily and everything she stood for. She didn't respect her, love her, or look up to her. She may have done at one point, but that was a long time ago.

Lily was pulled behind an invisible sheet, and a hand closed over her mouth. She tried to scream, but no sound came out. The hand spun her around, and she stared into the hazel eyes of James Potter. James looked back at Lily, there were tears streaming out of her eyes. She had been scared, petrified, and now James felt really awful. He put a finger to his lips and then removed his hand from Lily's mouth. She looked up at him with wide eyes. He took her hand and slowly led her past Professor Muscogee.

They walked, and didn't talk until they had reached the Owlery. It was quiet but warm. A beautiful summer's night. James took the cloak off and looked at Lily. She was looked confused and shell shocked. Like she had just been wandering through a battle field.

"You alright?" He asked. Lily sniffed and nodded rubbing away tears under her eyes.

"How did you... What were you...? What..." Lily froze and looked away.

"What were you doing out Lily?" James asked his level gaze seeing straight through Lily.

"I was so... scared. I didn't understand, I was confused. I couldn't. First you and then Snape..."

"Snape?" James asked astounded.

"Um..." Lily closed her eyes. "Yes, but it was nothing."

"Lily, I need to tell you something about Jacob." Lily looked up at him expectantly.

"Daisy, you know, Daisy Bennett. She told me, that she saw Jacob and Hannah Smith, and well..." He finished his sentence, and Lily took the message. She bit her lip and looked away. She guessed it was inevitable, and some how she was angry with herself for being stupid, for really believing that nothing happened.

"Sorry." James mumbled and looked at the floor embarrassedly.

"No, it's okay. I mean thanks, I'm glad you told me." Lily shivered although the air was warm. James looked sideways at her. He shuffled awkwardly towards her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm really sorry Lily, you deserve better than him." Lily nodded stiffly and turned her head.

"Thanks Potter." She put her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped his arms around her waist almost automatically. They stood there for a moment until Lily tilted her head up and looked up at him.

"About earlier, what you asked, I think that it would be a good idea. I've got a feeling that I think it would be a good idea now." He smiled at her and leaned down to kiss her. It felt so perfect and right. The way they stood there together. When they finally moved apart Lily smiled. James felt like his heart was going to burst with pride. He had managed, finally Lily was his.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing." James said and then laughed at Lily's unbelieving expression.

"What?" She asked again. He looked down at her face, her curious eyes and slightly open mouth.

"Well, I just think it's kind of funny. That we're just stood here. It's funny it happened here." Lily nodded.

"Yeah, I see what you mean. What time is it?" James looked at his wrist.

"Half eleven." Lily giggled.

"That'll be why I'm so tired then."

"Oh, sorry, do you want to go back to the common room?" James asked.

"Um... In a minute." James kissed Lily gently and she put her arms around his neck. They stood there for a few more minutes until Lily finally pulled away.

"I think now would be a good time." James pulled the invisibility cloak over both of them and they walked back through the corridor holding hands.

Once inside the common room they walked towards the Girls Stairs.

"'Night." James said smiling at Lily.

"See you in the morning." Lily stood on tiptoes to kiss James on the cheek and then ran up the stairs. James stood there, feeling like this was some kind of cliché, but he didn't know where from. He walked up to the dormitory and fell into his bed in a happy state.


	8. Epilogue

James watched Lily. She was stood in the hall almost shouting at Jacob. He was stood there looking peevishly at his feet. Then suddenly Lily turned and walked away from him towards the Gryffindor table. As James was watching her he saw Daisy Bennett with her group of friends.

"Daisy!" He shouted after her. Daisy spun on her heels and smiled at him.

"Potter. You alright?" She grinned knowingly.

"Couldn't be better thanks. I just wanted to say thanks, thanks for everything." Daisy grinned and saluted him.

"I'd always hated Earle. He's a dirty little so and so. Lily deserves so much better. Anyway, see you at training on Monday, yeah?" James smiled and nodded.

"What was that about?" James turned around and smiled at Lily.

"Oh nothing." He smiled at Lily. She held his hand under the table. "Just had to thank Daisy for something."


End file.
